


What Happens In Sochi

by PaintingWithWords (paint_with_words)



Series: Gift Exchange Fics [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Don’t copy to another site, Drunk Katsuki Yuuri, First Meetings, Gen, M/M, Missing Scenes from Zebras Among The Horses, Pining, Prequel to Zebras Among The Horses, epidemiology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 12:12:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17345021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paint_with_words/pseuds/PaintingWithWords
Summary: “You’re brilliant, you know that?” Yuuri said, not easily swayed or dismissed.  “You’re brilliant an’ you’re pretty an’ you just gave the best talk I ever heard in my life, but there’s just one little problem.  You’re wrong.”Anger flared up in Viktor’s chest.  What in the hell?  Wrong?  Wrong aboutwhat?  Next to him, Chris was about to say something again, probably tell this other Yuuri to get lost, but he stopped him.  Viktor had lots of experience handling people like this.“Pardon me?” he said with false politeness.  “Explain to me how I’m…wrong.”





	What Happens In Sochi

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dkwilliams](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkwilliams/gifts).



> This is a companion piece to [Zebras Among The Horses](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16063646?view_full_work=true). This is the fabled Sochi meeting, only this time from Viktor's point of view. You don't need to read the first story to understand this, but it'll definitely help.

Viktor sat in his office, listening to rise and fall of Yuuri and Phichit’s voices as they chatted in the lab, discussing where to go for lunch.  When silence fell and he knew for sure that they were gone, he opened his drawer and pulled a worn business card from its hiding place under his organizer tray.  Sighing, he turned it over in his hand, his thumb tracing over the faded letters and remembered when he’d received it.

* * *

 

“That was a great speech, Viktor,” Chris said as he leaned against the bar.  Viktor smiled and quietly nursed his drink.  He knew it was a good speech, but it still helped to hear it from someone close to him.  He’d been working on it for months and now that it was finally done, he was drained and tired.  But it was a good tired, one borne from a sense of accomplishment.

If the response he’d received afterwards was any indication, his virus surveillance project would get the funding he desperately needed to get it off the ground.  A number of people had approached him afterwards to talk to him about the necessary grants, and a few had even expressed interest in joining his team.

Viktor smiled and took another sip from his glass.  This was good, very good.  Money was one thing, but without other epidemiologists and virologists willing to do the necessary work to get things done, all the money in the world wouldn’t matter.

Next to him, Yuri put his drink down on the bar and sighed.  Yuri had been the first to approach him after his speech, wanting to know more about the project and the potential to work on it.  He’d known Yuri for years and he would make a fine epidemiologist once he was done with his fellowship in infectious diseases in Moscow.  But that was two years away.  Viktor was hoping they’d get started before then.  If only all the excitement he’d managed to generate tonight actually translated into grants-

“I think I’m ready for a change, Viktor,” Chris murmured, staring into his glass.  “I think your project might be the change I need.”

Viktor completely understood.  Chris had only recently been released from quarantine.  After twenty-one days spent locked away from the world, waiting to see if he would get sick or if he would remain healthy, it was no wonder that he was ready to do something a little less dangerous.

They were going to start small.  Viktor had room for three other people on the team in the initial phase.  He’d planned on hiring another epidemiologist and two virologists.  It would be best if he could hire people from other parts of the world and who had experience in other organizations.  Chris was an experienced virologist, and if he wanted to leave WHO in Geneva, he’d be a perfect fit.

Yuri finished his drink and slid off the barstool.  “Be right back,” he muttered as he headed off towards the restrooms.

Viktor nodded and turned to Chris, ready to discuss the possibility of bringing him to Paris to work for the Institut Pasteur.  But before he could say anything, a man in a rumpled suit stumbled up to the bar and sat down heavily on the barstool Yuri had just vacated.

“Hey,” the man said, looking at him over the top of his half-rimmed glasses.  He was attractive, but obviously quite inebriated.  Viktor suppressed a sigh.  He was not in the mood to play babysitter to someone who’d had too much to drink, no matter how cute he was.

The man smiled at him and pointed a finger at Viktor.

“You’re Doctor Viktor Nikiforov,” the man said with a satisfied smile.

 _Shit._   If the man knew who he was, then he was here for the conference.  The man gave him a slow, appreciative smile and swayed on the barstool.  He was about the same age as Viktor, maybe a little younger, with slicked back dark hair and flushed cheeks.

Before he could say anything, Chris spoke up.

“You shouldn’t sit there,” Chris said, rising to Viktor’s defense.  “That’s Yuri’s seat.”

The drunk man smiled blissfully and laughed.

“Well, that’s perfect,” he said. “I’m Yuuri.”  He drew out the vowel so it sounded more like ‘Yuuuuuri’  “See, I was supposed to come an’ talk to you.  It’s fate or somethin’.  Anyway, you are Doctor Viktor Nikiforov th’ epidemiologist, right?”

“Yes, I am,” Viktor answered as politely as possible.  He smiled at the drunk man- Yuuri- and started to turn back to Chris.  “Now, if you’ll just excuse me-”

“You’re brilliant, you know that?” Yuuri said, not easily swayed or dismissed.  “You’re brilliant an’ you’re pretty an’ you just gave the best talk I ever heard in my life, but there’s just one little problem.  You’re wrong.”

Anger flared up in Viktor’s chest.  What in the hell?  Wrong?  Wrong about _what_?  Next to him, Chris was about to say something again, probably tell this other Yuuri to get lost, but he stopped him.  Viktor had lots of experience handling people like this.

“Pardon me?” he said with false politeness.  “Explain to me how I’m… _wrong_.”

Yuuri was actually quite attractive, despite being inebriated and an obvious ass.  What a shame.  But what was he doing here at a conference held by the Institut Pasteur on virology- he could see his ID card and lanyard strung haphazardly around his neck- if he thought Viktor was wrong?

“Findin’ an’ trackin’ viruses is important, very important,” Yuuri slurred.  “I hafta do it when I’m out in th’ field on an active outbreak, but…” he leaned over and pointed a long, elegant finger in Viktor’s face, a sad smile on his face, “it’s not gonna matter if we’re all dead.”

Now Viktor was curious.  Next to him, Chris leaned over and murmured in French, “Oh, honey, I don’t care how pretty he is, get rid of him before things get _ugly_.”

Viktor suppressed a sigh.  He knew he should do what Chris said, but he was curious…

“Would you care to explain that?” Viktor asked.  Yuuri leaned in close, like he was sharing a secret and was afraid others would hear.

“Look, you know how people are tryin’ to deny that climate change is happenin’, right?” Yuuri said, forgetting to whisper.  “Well, most of the people who say this are the people who think they’re gonna lose money because of it.  Y’know, rich motherfuckers.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Viktor caught sight of Yuri heading back to them.  Even from this distance, he could see that Yuri looked angry.  Chris was right, things were about to get ugly.

“Hey!” Yuri bellowed across the bar. “Get out of my seat!”

Yuuri looked at Yuri and frowned as he walked up.  Without a word, Yuuri turned back to Viktor, clearly dismissing Yuri, and leaned in again.

“If we don’t do anything, th’ planet’s gonna get too warm for us to live.  But I’ve got an idea how we can stop it,” Yuuri confided, forgetting to whisper.

“Look, all these rich motherfuckers wanna stay rich, right?  So they say that climate change is bullshit, because the changes they’d have to make would cost money an’ eat into their bottom line.  And then they get pissed when scientists say it’s real.  So, what we need to do is go to all these rich assholes an’ let ‘em know that we can prove that they really _are_ right, that global warming really _is_ bullshit.”

Viktor frowned at him.  Was Yuuri one of those people who denied the evidence right in front of him?  Fuck this.  He needed to get rid of him _right now_ -

“So, we go to these guys an’ ask ‘em for grant money, lots of grant money,” Yuuri continued. “Because it’s gonna take lots of money to prove they’re right.  We’re gonna take all their damn dirty money an’ promise to prove them right, but we’ll fail in the attempt an’ prove them wrong!  We’ll prove that human beings are responsible for climate change an’ we’ll do it using the money of people who deny it!  Isn’t it beautiful?”

Viktor leaned away from Yuuri and looked at him.  What the hell kind of crazy idea was this?  He expected to see Yuuri smiling at him drunkenly, like he had when he’d first sat down next to him, but instead he looked determined.  It was clear that Yuuri was concerned about the state of things.  Of course, there were huge problems with the plan he’d just proposed.

“But I’m not a climate scientist,” Viktor said.  “No one is going to give an epidemiologist money to do research on climate change.  Are you a climate scientist?”

“Nope,” Yuuri said, shaking his head. “I’m just a dime a dozen field epidemiologist with the CDC.”

Beside them, Yuri groaned.  “Oh God, you’re with the fucking _CDC_?  Jesus… You jerks think you know the answer to _everything_.”

“Yura,” Viktor said in Russian, cutting Yuri off, “let him speak.”                                                    

More than once, he’d heard Yuri go off on a tirade about the CDC.  Just because Yakov had issues with the CDC didn’t mean they all had to have issues with them.  The CDC did good work, even if they were a little full of themselves sometimes.

Yuri huffed and tossed his ponytail back.

“You only want to talk to this pig because you think he’s hot and you haven’t had any in a while,” Yuri replied in Russian.  Viktor pointedly ignored him and focused on Yuuri.

“So,” Viktor said, actually beginning to enjoy this crazy conversation, “how are we going to convince people to give us grant money if neither of us has any background in climatology?”

“People know who you are,” Yuuri said, suddenly serious.  “They know your face an’ they know your name.  We’d have to quit our jobs to do it, but it’d be worth it.  We could do it.  We could save lives.”

Yuuri looked into his eyes and Viktor could see the passion behind Yuuri’s drunken words, the concern for well-being for others that helped fuel this crazy idea.  Suddenly, Viktor wondered if he brought this level of care to his fieldwork.  If he did, he would be a powerful force to reckon with in the field.

Viktor grabbed his glass and took a drink.

“You could come live with me in Atlanta,” Yuuri said.  “I- I don’t have anyone at home anymore, an’ I’ve got a second bedroom.  We could have a garden in the backyard an’-”

“Oh my God, Yuuri!” a man with a ponytail fast walked into the bar, a look of horror on his face as he laid eyes on Yuuri.  “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!  What did-”

“Ciao Ciao!” Yuuri said, turning to face the much taller man who came to stand beside him.  “Look, I met Viktor!”

Yuuri turned back to Viktor and smiled.  “Viktor, Celestino,” he slurred, making introductions.  “Celestino, Viktor.”

Celestino had an anxious expression on his face and wrapped his hand around Yuuri’s bicep.

“My apologies, Doctor Nikiforov,” Celestino said nervously.  “Please pardon my colleague here.  I’m afraid he’s had a little too much to drink.  He’s been under a lot of stress lately.  Please, pretend we were never here.”

Viktor gave Celestino a soft smile.  He was going to take Yuuri away, wasn’t he?  He really didn’t want him to leave-

Yuuri reached into his pocket, pulled out a business card, and put it in Viktor’s hand.

“Don’t lose that,” Yuuri said, full of drunk bravado again.  “You’re gonna wanna talk to me later.”  Then he winked at Viktor as Celestino hauled him off towards the lobby.

For a moment, Viktor just sat there, looking at the space where Yuuri had been.  Yuri complained as he took his seat again and ordered another drink from the bartender.  Chris chuckled good-naturedly and finished his drink.

“I’d hate to be in his position in the morning,” Chris said.  “You know his supervisor is going to bite his head off.”

Viktor said nothing.  He looked down at the card in his hand and turned it over.  _Yuuri Katsuki.  Field Epidemiologist.  Centers for Disease Control._   An email address and an American phone number were also on the card.  Quietly, he pulled out his wallet and slipped the card inside.

“You- you can’t be _serious_?” Yuri sputtered.  “You mean you actually want to talk that pig again?”

Viktor merely fixed Yuri with a look and took another drink.  He really didn’t want to discuss anything with him.  But there was something about Yuuri- Doctor Yuuri Katsuki- that intrigued him.  Maybe he would call him later, or drop him an email to talk to him about how to save the world.

 

* * *

 

“Viktor,” Chris said, startling him out of his memories.  _Shit._   He’d thought everyone was gone-

“Oh, honey,” Chris sighed, stepping into his office.  Quickly, Viktor gave a guilty start and tried to hide the card in his hands, but he was sure Chris had already seen it.

“I see you’ve still got Yuuri’s card,” Chris said.  “You’re such a romantic.”

Viktor frowned at him as he put it back in his drawer.

“Have you considered telling him how you feel?” he said, leaning against the doorframe.  “I mean, you’re thirty-six years old.  Surely you know how to talk to someone by now.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Viktor said defensively.  Chris laughed.

“Someone else might believe that, but not me,” Chris replied.  “Anyway, you should talk to him.  Invite him out to lunch.  I hear there’s a really good ramen restaurant a few blocks away.  Maybe you should take him there sometime.”  Chris walked back out into the lab, leaving Viktor alone in his office.

He knew Chris was right.  He should talk to Yuuri and tell him how he felt.  Maybe, just maybe, lunch would be a good place to start.

 


End file.
